New insights into an ancient fish

The last free-flowing rivers

One such river is the Kah-pana-yow-sîpiy (river that widens) or the Mehkipwâmeštik-sîpiy (red willow river) in Ililîmowin, or the North French River in English. This is the last intact watershed without any permanent roads or industrial activity within Kit Aski Nahnuun (the Moose Cree Homeland). Globally, such free-flowing rivers are also becoming increasingly rare.

Namew are culturally important to Ililiwak (Moose Cree Peoples). WCS Canada and Moose Cree First Nation worked together to co-create a research program in the North French River. Together, we’re getting new insight into namew movement and behaviour in this free-flowing and undisturbed river. Not only does this give us insights into how healthy namew in a free-flowing river move and behave, but it also provides a benchmark to guide recovery for namew in more impacted and disturbed areas.

What we’ve learned

Our latest study shows that the North French River provides year-round habitat for namew. We identified some particularly important habitats, like overwintering sites.

Moose Cree Peoples commonly refer to six seasons to describe the natural patterns of water and temperature throughout the year. We documented how namew movement and behaviour changed throughout these six seasons.

This is the first and most comprehensive telemetry study of namew behaviour in a northern free-flowing river.